


Finding Love at a Crossroad

by Cello_trash



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Author Projecting onto Taako (The Adventure Zone), Awkward Kravitz (The Adventure Zone), Crack, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Supernatural Elements, Taako is Bad at Feelings (The Adventure Zone), kind of, no beta we die like men, nursing student taako, they're both idiots your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-26 10:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30104529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cello_trash/pseuds/Cello_trash
Summary: "Due to the grueling nature of the human nursing education process, this field has one of the highest concentrations of supernatural beings: 23% of werewolves, 78% of vampires, and 63% of other (demons, pitched, etc) work in the nursing profession"Or Taako is a human nursing student who just wants to pass his exams and is willing to sell his soul to do so. When Kravitz is the one to show up at the crossroads, things get interesting.
Relationships: Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in this fandom and I have had so much fun writing it. Thanks to my amazing friend axeljeldridge for giving me this hilarious prompt... hope y'all enjoy! I wrote most of this at ungodly hours of the night so apologies for any spelling/grammar issues... I think I caught all of them but all mistakes are my own :)

Taako stood at the crossroads, the biting wind and surrounding darkness causing him to shiver in his thin jacket from equal parts cold and fear. He looked around furtively, half expecting something to jump out at him from the darkness. How long did it take for a crossroads deal to start anyway? He’d set up the sigils and everything like, at least 5 minutes ago. He checked his watch, tapped his foot, ran a hand through his hair, checked his watch again, let out a sigh, checked his watch once more. If he didn’t have enough time to study for his goddamn exam he certainly didn’t have time to be stood up by a fucking crossroads demon. He’d always assumed it was an automatic thing, like you draw the symbols, light the candles, and poof the person you’d sell your soul to just appeared immediately. Go figures.

He was just about to turn to leave when he felt the air surrounding him grow even colder for a split second before a portal opened up and a tall male figure in a long, dark black coat stepped out. When he was fully out of the portal it snapped closed and Taako noticed that beneath the cowl of the man’s coat there were two glowing red eyes behind a skull.

Taako took a slight step back in surprise, “Uhh… hachi machi my guy, you’re not a demon huh…? Unless they’ve changed your uniform…” Taako struggled to regain his sense of bravado, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, “And if so I’d like to petition for a maid’s costume instead…” 

The taller man cleared his throat, brushing some dust off of the sides of his jacket, “No, I’m not a crossroads demon, but hell’s a bit short staffed at the minute… my mistress, The Raven Queen is close friends with Lucifer, so I’m currently working a per diem gig with this whole soul selling business to help out hell.” The man spoke with a heavy cockney accent, but it was so exaggerated that Taako had an odd suspicion it might be fake. 

“Oh, well of course,” Taako nodded awkwardly, “You don’t have to tell me about being short staffed I can tell you, I’m very familiar with it…” Taako clapped his hands together, before teasingly speaking in his own butchered cockney accent, “Well, I’m on a pretty short notice myself especially since I had to wait, so lets sign over my life, smooch, and be on our ways whatta say guvnr?”

Taako wasn’t sure how it was possible with the other man’s face being a skull, but he could have sworn that he was blushing. 

“Well, I, umm… I’m not a governor…” 

Even though he knew that he should speed things along, Taako was having fun now, “What should I call you then skull face? I’ll let you know I don’t make a habit of making out with people I don’t know the name of, and I’m told the whole kissing thing is a mandatory part of the deal…”

“Ummm, my name is Kravitz… what’s uh, your name?”

“Taako’s the name, nursing’s the game, don’t wear it out bubala,” Taako drawled, crossing his arms in front of his chest and cocking his hip. 

Kravitz stared silently at Taako for several seconds before shaking his head and clearing his throat again, “Well… umm, you know the drill I’m sure, or at least I hope you’ve done your research before selling your soul for all of eternity.” A clipboard appeared in Kravitz’s hands and he began flipping through the papers, “Alright, this is just all the boring fine print, the length of your sentence, disclaimers, yadda yadda yadda,” Kravitz got to the end of the stack of papers, sighing in annoyance, “where is it I swear I can never find it… why is this laid out so weird it doesn’t make any goddamn sense…”

Taako watched the flustered man start at the top and flip through the papers again until Kravitz exclaimed, “Ah ha! Here it is… okay just have to ask a few questions to fill out the paperwork…”

“Go for it ghost rider,” Taako responded.

“Alright, so can you tell me your full legal name?” Kravitz looked up at Taako with his pen poised above the paper.

“Taako Taaco… first name T-A-A-K-O, last T-A-A-C-O.” 

Kravitz gave him a weird look, “You’re not messing with me right? If you’re lying and I submit this paperwork there are dire consequences…”

“Double pinkie promise, Taako Taaco’s my legal name, on my birth certificate and everything.” 

Kravitz shrugged and moved on to the next question, “And do you legally swear that you’ve read the full terms and conditions of selling your soul on our website?”

Taako raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “I mean they are the terms and conditions compadre, I didn’t read all of it, but I skimmed enough to get the gist of the whole thing… and I read a couple Reddit threads about it so I’m good to go.”

Kravitz seemed to get more and more distressed as Taako continued to talk, “This isn’t something to take lightly, Taako, this is an eternal deal, here I have the terms of conditions right here, I’ll read them to you…” Kravitz tagged the page he was on before flipping to the first page, taking a deep breath before starting, “By agreeing to sell your soul, the participant agrees to all of the following-”

Taako cut him off, “whoa slow your roll, let’s not do this okay… I swear I know what I’m getting into…”

Kravitz looked dubiously at him, his skull face dropping to reveal a handsome man, as if his surprise had caused his magic to falter, “I… I don’t know if I feel comfortable doing this, Taako… it seems like you’re making a rash decision…”

Taako huffed and rolled his eyes, “Ok mother… jeez are you always this much of a buzzkill… I’ve done way crazier things on shorter notice.” 

Kravitz’s face hardened and his face was once again bone, “I am NOT a buzzkill. If you want to do this without considering all of the consequences then so be it,” he flipped back to the page he had been writing on, before stiffly asking “now last question before we sign it… what thing did you do, or want to do, that brought you to our services?”

Taako’s cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment, and he hoped that Kravitz would simply attribute it to the cold night air, “Well, I didn’t mean to insult you…” he picked at his nails, “but I’m here because I need assurance that I’m going to pass a nursing exam next week.”

Kravitz’s skull once again came down, “I’m sorry… you’re willing to sell your soul to Lucifer for all time to pass an exam????”

“Well I’m hoping to have all of my exams listed in the agreement not just a single exam, but yeah… it’s not like I’m not gonna stop studying or anything, but like yeah I’m super tired and stressed so…”

Kravitz looked at Taako as if he’d lost his mind, “The number of exams wasn’t what I was confused about Taako… normally people who do this are like… trying to kill someone or some other heinous act and you just… want to do well on some tests?”

Taako was getting more and more self-conscious, “I mean… It's a hard job is all… most of my classmates either don’t need to sleep, or sleep less, or have super strength or whatever but I’m just a guy.” Taako gestured to himself as if to show Kravitz just how human he was.

The clipboard disappeared from Kravitz’s hands, “I’m not doing this… I’ve had reservations from the beginning, but this is it, I can’t go through with this in good conscience.” Kravitz waved his hand and a portal reappeared, “Have a good rest of your life Taako and good luck with your exam.” 

Kravitz began to step back through the door, but Taako yelled out, “Wait! What about if once you’re done with your shift tonight I take you out to dinner and I try to convince you.” Kravitz opened his mouth to object but Taako didn’t stop talking, “If at the end of it I’m not successful I won’t try to do this again… but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to if you give me a bit more time to explain.”

Kravitz scratched the back of his neck. Taako tried to sweeten the pot, “I’ll pay for your food… I know a great Tex-mex place not too far from here.”

“I… I guess it can’t hurt…” Kravitz responded uncertainly, “I’m off at 10… is that too late?” 

“Maybe normally,” Taako smiled brightly at Kravitz, “But my sister is the owner, so it's not an issue... she won't mind if we stay late, I can always close up if she wants to go home.” Taako patted his pockets, “Do you have a pen so I can write down the address?”

“Uhhh, sure…” Kravitz held out a pen and a scrap of paper. Taako scribbled the information and handed it back to Kravitz. 

“See you at 10:15 skull face,” Taako winked and turned, walking away as Kravitz stared at him go, a blush spreading across his cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I hope you enjoy this chapter, reading all of your nice comments has made me so happy! I'm thinking of either adding on more chapters to this with like small one-shots of Taako in the hospital w Magnus and Merle, more Taakitz fluff etc, or maybe making this a series with the other oneshots as separate stories... let me know in the comments whether 1) people are interested in more from this universe and 2) what people would prefer in terms of how I publish them :)
> 
> All mistakes are my own!

Taako sat in a corner booth of the StarBlaster, eyes on the clock as it crept closer and closer to 10:15.  _ What had he been thinking?  _ He should have just let Kravitz go and then tried again and hoped for a real crossroads demon this time. But alas, he had wandered back to Lup’s restaurant, taken up the booth he always sat at, and worked on some homework. Or at least he was planning on studying. He had been fairly successful in the beginning, but for the last 15 minutes he had just been watching the clock. 

He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. If Kravitz didn’t show up, then he would just try again tomorrow. His leg started to bounce violently, bumping against the bottom of the table, once the clock struck 10:15 and Kravitz still hadn’t shown up. Figures that he’d be stood up by the grim reaper twice in one night. However, he didn’t have to wait as long this time, as Kravitz stumbled through the front door mere seconds later. 

He lowered his cowl, and Taako was pleased to see that Kravitz had dropped his illusion magic. When he didn’t have a skull for a face, Kravitz was extremely handsome. The grim reaper looked around the restaurant, and Taako stood up and waved to catch his attention. 

Kravitz smiled slightly and moved to sit down with Taako. When he arrived at the table however, both men realized that papers and notebooks were spread across the entire tabletop and Taako’s ears burnt red with embarrassment.

“I-, ummm, so sorry about this,” Taako stuttered as he tried to collect all of his belongings as quickly as possible, “I spread out a little bit I guess, sorry there isn’t space, just give me a sec-” Taako accidentally dropped several notebooks on the floor in his haste, and Kravitz placed a hand on Taako’s shoulder. 

Taako flinched slightly in shock when he felt Kravitz touch him, and the other man stepped back in response, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…”

Taako sighed, “You’re fine, I just wasn’t expecting it is all and I’m tired enough that I’m just sorta jumpy.” 

Kravitz nodded understandingly and stooped to pick up the books that Taako had dropped, holding them out for Taako to take. When Taako grabbed them, his fingers brushed Kravitz’s, and while he had expected Kravitz’s skin to be cool, his hands were warm and gentle. 

“Thanks,” Taako croaked, mouth dry, his blush spreading across his entire face as he finished packing all of his stuff into his bag with the help of Kravitz. Finally, they both sat down across from each other, and an awkward silence fell over them. How does one start a conversation about why their soul deserves to be sold to the devil? 

“So ummm, how was the rest of your shift…?” Taako asked, twiddling his thumbs.

“It was fine… a couple of murderers, someone who wanted to get away with embezzlement, you know the usual…” Kravitz was fidgeting with one of the paper napkins at the table, “I, ummm… Taako I was wondering-” Kravtiz interrupted himself, “Would you mind it I spoke in my natural accent?” He asked, suddenly speaking in an east coast American accent. 

“Oh, of course,” Taako nodded.

Kravitz smiled ruefully, “Yeah, I use the cockney accent on the job because it makes me more intimidating, but it’s hard to keep up…”

In all honesty, Taako thought that Kravitz’s butchered accent made him seem a bit silly, but instead he said, “Yeah, of course… makes uh, perfect sense…”

Kravitz cleared his throat, “As I was saying, I’m not entirely sure why you invited me to this restaurant.” When Taako opened his mouth, Kravitz held up a hand to silence him, “I know you said you wanted to convince me, but this feels kind of like the start of… a date…”

Taako’s blush had been slowly disappearing, but it was now back with a vengeance, “I mean… I don’t see why it can’t be both… if you’re interested that is… when you don’t have your skull charm up you’re not bad looking… and I find it kind of sweet that you wouldn’t let me sell my soul…” Taako scrubbed his hands across his face, “I was angry at first… but now that I’ve had some time off I can see why it might have been a little bit of a rash decision…” Taako was surprised to find he actually meant what he said. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but as the hours had ticked by his conviction about selling his soul had steadily been dropping.

Kravitz raised one eyebrow, “I think it was a more than a ‘little bit’ rash Taako.” Taako snorted and Kravitz laughed quietly as well. Kravitz bit his lip lightly, “I am fairly curious about how you were going to convince me to change my mind though…?”

The smile dropped from Taako’s face, and Kravitz backtracked, “You don’t have to tell me, I was just curious.”

Taako shook his head sadly, “No… you should know… especially if you’re actually interested in me… it might make you change your mind…”

Kravitz was taken aback, “I can’t imagine you doing anything that terrible, but I’m here to listen if you want to talk about it.”

Taako let out a deep breath, “So… I used to ummm be the main cook for a popular food truck business… it was just me and an assistant and we would travel the country, doing shows, and uhh one show the food was bad and it killed like… a lot of people…” Taako’s voice was tight and it was clear that he was trying hard not to cry, “It turned out that my assistant poisoned the food because he was angry that I wouldn’t let him cook in the shows… so like it wasn’t technically me, but if I hadn’t been so selfish and hogged the limelight those people probably wouldn’t have died so…” Taako’s voice was too choked up to continue.

When he looked up, he saw Kravitz’s eyes filled with pity, “Taako…” Kravitz seemed to want to say something, but he didn’t know what.

Taako took a deep breath, “...that’s why I went back to nursing school actually… I figured that maybe I could make up for ruining all of those people’s lives if I saved others…” he trailed off, sniffling quietly, not meeting Kravitz’s eyes. 

All of a sudden he felt Kravitz take his hand, “That wasn’t your fault Taako…” he seemed to be mulling something over before continuing, “And for the record it doesn’t change anything for me.”

“Oh,” Taako said meekly, and began to cry in earnest. Kravitz looked alarmed, getting out of his seat to slide into Taako’s side and give him a hug. When Taako had calmed down, he pulled back from Kravitz, “I’m sorry that isn’t like me at all, umm… wow can we start over…?”

Kravitz smiled kindly, “What if I don’t want to start over… I like this Taako…”

Taako scoffed, “You can’t actually mean that… all I’ve done is try to sell my soul and then cry all over you.”

Kravitz bumped his shoulder into Taako’s playfully, “Well, I have enjoyed it, so if you really do want to act like none of this happened I’m willing to do it, but I’ve enjoyed tonight so far… you keep me on my toes.”

“Okay…” Taako smiled quietly before looking up into Kravitz’s eyes, “Well ghostrider, you know about why I’m in nursing school… what made you want to be the grim reaper?”

“Well, it wasn’t what I dreamed of when I was younger,” it was Kravitz’s turn to blush, “I actually wanted to become an orchestra conductor… but I guess life, and well death, finds a way…”

Taako hummed agreeably, “fair enough.”

Kravitz continued, “But I honestly enjoy it, and well, I still play the cello when I have the chance… that was my primary instrument, and I don’t really have much time for it anymore, but I still love it.”

Taako was about to respond, when Lup appeared next to their table, loudly proclaiming, “Taako, you didn’t tell me you had a date!” 

Kravitz looked up in surprise, and Taako gestured towards Lup, “Kravitz I’d like you to meet my twin sister Lup.”

“It’s, um, a pleasure to meet you,” Kravitz waved awkwardly to Lup as she gave him a scrutinizing look.

“So, how’d you meet my brother?” Lup put her hands on her hips, “I’ll have you know that I am very skilled with knives and fire and if you were to hurt my brother… well… I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Her grin was razor sharp.

Kravitz decided to ignore the second part, “Well… we met at a crossroads-” he felt Taako kick him violently in the shins.

Lup narrowed her eyes and turned to Taako, “And what were you doing at a crossroads?”

Taako sputtered for a few seconds, before finally admitting, “Well… I may have tried to sell my soul in exchange for a good grade…” At Lup’s furious look, he rushed on, “But Kravitz here wouldn’t do it, so like… it’s fine…”

Lup grit her teeth, “What the fuck were you thinking Taako! I have a job to do, but don’t think we won’t have a conversation about this later.” She glared at him, but when he looked sheepish, her gaze softened slightly, “So… what do you idiots want to eat?”

The rest of Taako and Kravitz’s impromptu date went surprisingly well, Taako thought, as they finally left the restaurant after talking for hours. They walked towards their cars, and Taako spoke up, “Well… this was really fun and I’d like to do this again…?”

Kravitz held Taako’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly, “I would love that Taako.”

Taako scuffed his shoes across the ground, before looking up at Kravitz, “Well, I-, umm… I was expecting to kiss someone tonight at the crossroads, and it didn’t happen, but ummm… I wouldn’t be opposed to a kiss... now… if you want of course…”

Kravitz simply smiled, taking Taako’s face in his hands, and bent down to kiss Taako chastely, but firmly. When they parted, they both were smiling at each other, “Have a good night Taako,” Kravitz said as he handed him a napkin with his number written on it, “I hope I hear from you soon.”

Taako took the piece of paper and held it reverently in his hand, his voice soft when he replied, “Yeah… of course.” He then leaned up and kissed Kravitz again, before opening his car door, “See you around hot shot.”

Kravitz chuckled and waved, getting into his car as well, and the two men drove off. Taako tapped a rhythm into his steering wheel with his fingers. He knew that he should be feeling stressed about his exam tomorrow, but for the first time in forever, he simply felt happy.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this plz plz plz leave a kudos and/or a comment you'd be my hero for feeding me with validation lol


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